Do you remember Ogle’s Cafe in Waverly?

WAVERLY, MN – The granddaughter of Ches and Goldie Ogle recently wrote about her memories of Ogle’s Café in Waverly.  Carmen Gruenhagen, the daughter of Sam Gruenhagen of Howard Lake and Mary Jean Ogle, formerly of Waverly, wrote a letter about her grandparents; sharing it with family and friends on Facebook.  “I was so pleased to hear from so many people who had their own wonderful memories of my grandparents and of Ogle’s Cafe,” she said.  Her letter follows.  If you have memories, too, then please post them at the end of the blog post.

In loving memory of Ches & Goldie Ogle

By Carmen Gruenhagen of North Carolina

I have many wonderful memories of Ogle’s Cafe and of my Grandparents Ches and Goldie Ogle. In fact, they are some of my most treasured childhood memories. I was a very young girl in the days of Ogle’s Cafe, so I will try and share with you my most vivid thoughts and remembrances.

As my Grandpa Ches was once quoted as saying in the December 1972 issue of the River Valley Drummer, “Waverly’s heart beat in this place”. Ogle’s Cafe wasn’t just the best restaurant in town; it was a great gathering place.

My Grandparents were very hard workers and they were always up before the sun came up, and worked six days a week. My Grandmother was known to my sister Shelly and I as Grandma Speed. This was nothing unusual, because if you lived in Waverly, you had a nickname. :) If you ever saw her speedy hands over the old cast iron stove with her many pots and pans, you would know how she got her nickname. Some of my favorite things my Grandma used to make were her mashed potatoes, her dill pickles and of course her doughnuts. I remember many times sitting on a stool in the kitchen savoring a giant bowl of her mashed potatoes. When asked once how she got all the lumps out of her potatoes, she replied “I beat the hell out of them”. I can still taste them, and to this day have never tasted any like it. I have the recipe for her doughnuts which was given to me by my mother Mary, but I believe some things just can’t be duplicated. My Grandma was once quoted as saying “I’ll bet I’ve made enough doughnuts to fill this building” and I think she was right. Although I have not had any luck duplicating Grandma’s doughnuts, my father Sam Gruenhagen has done a great job with her dill pickle recipe. Just ask anyone in Howard Lake who has had the privilege of sampling them.

While Grandma Speed was the working force in the kitchen, my Grandpa Ches was the personality out front. I never saw him without a grin on his face or a pencil behind his ear (as he was always taking meal orders), and there was no one better at telling a joke. Together, the two of them made Ogle’s Cafe such an unforgettable place.

My Grandparents not only worked hard, but they also knew how to have a really good time. I remember their many parties when the doors would close, the windows would get covered up, and the stack of 78’s would go on the record player. There was Tiny Hill, Glen Miller, Guy Lombardo, and Artie Shaw, to name a few. Some of the partiers in attendance were, Mabel Fitzpatrick, Red and Lois Fitzpatrick, Al and Geraldine Gutske, Larry and Irene Antil and many more. The evening would start with a lot of dancing and usually end with the singing of Irish ballads such as O Danny Boy, Galway Bay, Too Ra Loo Ra Loora, and if Irene Antil was present, there was always a rousing rendition of Goodnight Irene. Yes, the adults all had a great time that was clear, but as a young child; I have special memories of my own.

We would take trips out to Waverly just about every weekend when I was growing up. We would usually arrive Friday evening and upon our arrival, my sister and I would immediately race to the infamous candy counter, which was filled with rows and rows of penny candy. Saturday mornings, my Grandparents would be up early and Grandma was already busy at the stove, her hands flying. My sister and I would get up early as well, and I remember sitting at the counter in the kitchen and Grandma would throw us all of her leftover pie crust and we would start making our pie crust cookies. Along with the pie crust, we would throw in some raisins, some cinnamon, and whatever else was on hand (and I am sure an occasional stray hair) and then my Grandma would bake them for us. My parents were the lucky recipients of our handy work. :) We would run down to their bedroom with our cookies and were so excited to wake them up to try them. They would put on a brave face and give them a try, (although I don’t know that they actually ever chewed or swallowed them), and then proceed to tell us how good they were. We were so proud!

To most people Ogle’s Cafe is remembered as being the best restaurant around, but to me it was so much more, it was a giant fun house.

As some people may recall, behind the restaurant there was the living quarters, which used to serve as a motel. There were several bedrooms and a really long hallway, which my sister and I spent many afternoons racing up and down in our little red wagon. We sure did put some miles on that Radio Flyer! Then of course there were the holidays, Christmas being one of my favorites. My Grandparents somehow arranged it so that we would get to meet Santa (AKA Jim Franske) on Christmas Eve. I always thought he looked familiar, but I couldn’t quite place him. I remember on one occasion my Grandma shouted out, “Shelly, get Santa a beer”. To me, that was nothing unusual, as my Grandparents were always generous with the Hamm’s beer.

I know that there are many stories’ out there about Ogle’s Cafe, because it meant so many different things to so many people, but to me it was just Grandma and Grandpa’s house, and I feel so fortunate to have had Ches and Goldie Ogle as my Grandparents.